kikula wrote:Psst, some new pieces at Greenwood, including a very nice yuzamashi. And a sale.

Yes, thanks to Chip for the recent posts of the yuzamashi because I have a habit if putting away a bit if work from each firing to post at a later date. My thinking is that it gives my shop a greater variety of work. The problem is I put things away in bins and forget about it, out of sight and out of mind

Thanks for the action shots everyone!

I'm struggling to get back in the studio. Last week I made the mistake of not turning the heater in my studio up high enough. We had some seriously cold weather and all my new wet clay work froze, ruining it, so bummed I'm going to pull myself up by the bootstraps and get back to work this week. Any requests or suggestions for new work????

You are welcome!!!

Bummer!!!

Brewing vessels!!!

(and did I miss a coupon about a sale??? I went to etsy and did not see anything)

kikula wrote:Psst, some new pieces at Greenwood, including a very nice yuzamashi. And a sale.

Kikula, thanks for the notice. Two new cups attached themselves to my cart and wouldn't let go.

Shawn, Wow...like Chip said, bummer!! I'm sorry that happened. It seems the East Coast is having its full winter and we on the west moved from autumn straight to spring (we are 20% of normal for rainfall/snow out here). I'd personally be interested to see gaiwans with some of the effects of your various guinomis/teacups (glazed or unglazed), similar to some of the shibs that you've made. Blessings as you head back into the studio!

We must have been typing our messages at the same time or I had started typing right as your's posted, because I didn't see this. Chip said "vessels" and my mind went right to seeing some more sizes of gaiwan with interesting glazes and colors...or just plain ash burn.

And I need a larger--24 oz-ish pitcher for sharing tea in the office--the tea partakers keep growing in number for my tea delivery runs....

There is a way in which I am beginning to sense that you are a true tea prophet, expanding the office pool of tea drinkers and giving away cups and teaware to support the tea path of others.

It's been cold here in Central New York, like REAL cold. About a month ago my studio froze and I lost all the work I had been making due to freezing clay. Heavy snowfall has also made this winter a tough one, and last week my brand new kiln shed structure collapsed under the weight of the snow. Luckily the wood-kiln was unharmed, but what a mess and we'll have to rebuild before we can fire in the spring. So, I was feeling a bit down and couldn't find the motivation to get back into the cold studio.

Finally, I figured if you can't beat 'um, join 'um. I decided to try my hand at some Ice Crackle glaze. I think Jack Frost was pleased and blessed me with a good firing.

Here's a chawan that shows off the results nicely because of the openness of the form. This glaze is really difficult to photograph. Every shift of light changes the appearance of depth.Iphone picture with a flashpicture taken under normal photo-booth conditions with an LEDIn addition to the interesting crackle patterns in this glaze, it also has the nice Chun-like quality of having many small gas bubbles within the glaze. Perhaps you can see it on this small teacup.

Lastly, the Ice Crackle effect seems to "melt" away temporarily when it's exposed to tea or water. I believe that the moisture changes the way the light refracts when it gets into the crazing of the glaze. Minutes later, like magic, the glaze "re-freezes" before your eyes. The depth and crackle pattern reappear within the glaze and your left knowing that Old Man Winter will never loosen his grip on these cups.

And yes, that crackle glaze is crazy difficult to show photographically, because so much of the joy of it is in response to movements of the light, shifting ripples through the tea liquor making the flakes glow.

It reminds me of ice that freezes over a dirty urban street downtown where cars pass all the time, mixed in with snow and dirt along side the gutter. And yet the glaze eludes a certain warmth and level of comfort that not everyone would understand. Beautiful pieces Shawn. Hope you have a great year firing more teaware.